The Christmas Basket distribution at Sun Youth closed 2018 with approximately 4000 families assisted for the Holidays. Each family received a hamper filled with perishable and non perishable food items, hygiene products and a few Holiday surprises. Furthermore some 4000 brand new toys found their way into the hands of children 12 years and under. Once again Sun Youth was able to count on the renewed support and generosity of the public and companies. However, the work is far from over!
For most people, the Holidays are synonymous with vacation. This is not the case for poverty, hunger and social exclusion. Although Sun Youth’s first mission to feed thousands of families for the Holiday season was successful, the cold winter months will be very difficult for the organization’s food bank, which unfortunately will have a hard time filling the growing needs of its clientele this winter with its current food stocks. Those resources were used to the maximum during the Holidays.
Sun Youth thus invites the Montreal community to continue to be generous, food donations collected at this time of year allowing the organization to support its clientele throughout the year, especially during the winter season. It is essential for Sun Youth to respond adequately to the demand, whatever the time of the year. The organization is therefore looking for donations of non-perishable food, particularly pasta, pasta sauce, rice, legumes, peanut butter and canned fish such as tuna or salmon. Basic food products allow families benefiting from the help of Sun Youth to prepare more meals with the items they receive as emergency food assistance.
Designed to meet emergency needs, the Sun Youth Food Bank helps families or individuals facing difficult situations while also offering monthly food supplements to certain groups including the elderly, pregnant women and people with chronic viral diseases. Sun Youth also has a home delivery service for people with reduced mobility and socially isolated individuals referred by the social services. In total, nearly 28,900 food hampers are provided a year to more than 18,000 people, 39% of whom are children under 18 years of age.
